3 Best Sights in Pula, Istria

Designed to accommodate 23,000 spectators, Pula's Arena is the sixth-largest building of its type in the world (after the Colosseum in Rome and similar arenas in Verona, Catania, Capua, and Arles). Construction was completed in the 1st century AD under the reign of Emperor Vespasian, and the Romans staged gladiator games here until such bloodthirsty sports were forbidden during the 5th century. It has remained more or less intact, except for the original tiers of stone seats and numerous columns that were hauled away for other buildings. Today it is used for summer concerts (by musicians including Sting, Robbie Williams, Imagine Dragons, and Jose Carreras), opera performances, and the annual film festival in mid-July. The underground halls house a museum with large wooden oil presses and amphorae.

The Forum, the original central square, administrative hub, and marketplace of ancient and medieval Pula, is still the city's most important public meeting place after 2,000 years. Today, the Forum is a spacious square ringed with bustling cafés, shops, and restaurants. There were once three temples here, only one of which remains: the Temple of Augustus. Perfectly preserved, the Augustov Hram was built between 2 BC and AD 14. Next to it stands the Gradska Palača (Town Hall), which was erected during the 13th century using part of another Roman temple as the back wall. The arcades on three sides of the Forum square were added later, during the Renaissance.

For a lively and aromatic atmosphere in which to have a shot of espresso, buy a banana, or just wander about gazing at food stands, check out Pula's market square, Narodni trg. The Tržnica (City Market) sits in the center of the square. On one side of the stately two-story market building—whose iron-and-glass construction was state-of-the-art when it opened to great fanfare in 1903—you'll find outdoor fruit and vegetable stands on stone tables under red umbrellas and, on the other side, cafés and small boutiques. Inside the Tržnica itself you will find the fish market (downstairs), meat and poultry butchers, bakeries, cheesemongers, fresh pasta, and several fast-food eateries (second floor).